GRIDIRON GLANCE ’25: Goldthwaite Eagles

August 19, 2025 at 6:47 am Updated: August 19th, 2025 at 9:55 am Derrick Stuckly

GOLDTHWAITE – The Goldthwaite Eagles returned to the playoffs in 2024 after a two-year absence, and heading into head coach Andy Howard’s fourth season the program looks to climb even higher in one of the toughest districts in the state – 10-2A Division II.

“Here we are in year four and the guys know our expectations,” Howard said. “There’s accountability, the kids are showing up, there’s a culture in the program. They know our schemes, they’re willing to show up and go to work, and they’re pushing through a little grind period before the season right now and I’m proud of them.”

The Eagles placed fourth in the District 10-2A Division II standings a season ago and return six starters on each side of the ball for 2025, as Dave Campbell’s Texas Football has projected Goldthwaite to come in third behind Bremond and Mart in the league standings.

“It’s going to be better and stronger than it was last year.,” Howard said of the 10-A Division II race. “Bremond is returning everybody from last year’s team. Mart’s returning a big portion of their offensive and defensive lines along with some good JV players coming up. Chilton, we caught them in an injury bug last year but they’re all coming back this year and they have a really talented running back we’re going to have to face. The rest of the hunt, Hubbard, Frost, Meridian and Wortham, it’s a battle just to get in. But I feel like every team in our district is going to be a little bit better this year.”

Among the key returnees for Goldthwaite are quarterback Aidyn Lee (69 of 124 for 1,120 yards, 10 TDs; 605 rushing yards, 12 TDs), running back Landry Sanderson (1,175 rushing yards, 14 TDs; District Newcomer of the year); and receivers Casen Wiedebusch (5-42, TD receiving), Zach Rodriguez (6-143, 2 TDs receiving) and Talen Gardner (3-48) on offense. The defense is spearheaded by Hagen Greenway (95 tackles, 1 interception) and Walt Thompson (84 tackles).

“We have a lot of skill positions that are back,” Howard said. “We’re still young at some of those positions, but that’s our strength. Being able to execute those things and now being able to hone in and fine tune some of those skills is the strength of our team offensively and defensively.

“Aidan Lee is going to touch the ball a lot for us offensively. He’s dynamic and can do a lot of things with the football. Landry Sanderson is a returning running back and we have some weapons out wide at receiver, Casen Wiedebusch, Zach Rodriguez, and Talen Gardner is an up and coming tight end for us that we’ll utilize a lot. Defensively, Hagen Greenway is a returning guy, a sophomore this year and we’re expecting big things from him on the defensive side along with Walt Thompson, our middle linebacker who is another young returner. A lot of guys are back, we’re still a little on the youthful side, but we have some experience under our belts.”

While skill positions are among the team strengths, replacing bodies in the trenches is the biggest concern in Goldthwaite.

“Where we need to improve is we need to find our guys up front,” Howard said. “We’re replacing four of the five linemen from last year and we’re on the right track. I feel really good about what we’ve got coming up but they’re still unproven. We’ve got to gain some experience early in the year and see if those guys can handle it up front.”

Candidates to see time on the offensive or defensive lines include Greenway, Jeramiah Avants, Angel Hernandez, Greenway, Simon Hodge, Ben Wetzig, McKinley Montalvo and Brandt Long.

The Eagles kick off the season Aug. 29 at Junction, then host Center Point on Sept. 5 before the pre-district finale at home against San Saba Sept. 12.

“We need to see continuous growth week in and week out, day in and day out,” Howard said of the pre-district goals. “We need to be playing some of our best football early in the year because we have such a big district. We need to get where we need to be early in the football season.”

The seven-game 10-2A Division II slate begins Sept. 26 at Chilton.

Regarding how good Goldthwaite can be in 2025, Howard said, “The key to reaching our potential is to try to get the most out of them everyday. I tell them at the end of the day you need to be the best that you can possibly be and let everything else fall where it’s going to fall. We just need to get everything we can out of them day in and day out and know that we do have some young ones and there will be some growing pains, but you have to learn from your failures early on.”

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GOLDTHWAITE EAGLES 2025 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

August 29	at Junction	7:30 p.m.
September 05	Center Point	7:30 p.m.
September 12	San Saba	7:30 p.m.
September 19	OPEN
September 26	at Chilton*	7 p.m.
October 03	Hubbard*#	7 p.m.
October 10	at Frost*	7 p.m.
October 17	Bremond*	7 p.m.
October 24	at Wortham*	7 p.m.
October 31	Meridian*	7 p.m.
November 07	at Mart*	7 p.m.